Can It Be Real?
by Texas Longhorn
Summary: Ash and Misty reunite for a late-night outing in the middle of winter. Where do the roads of Cerulean take them? One-shot.


**Hey Everybody! **First, for my regular readers, have no fear. As a Christmas present, I finally finished chapter 53 of my main story "A New Journey". It will be published first thing Christmas morning, so please read and review that if you get the chance! This is just a little something extra I whipped together for the Christmas season. It's actually just a bunch of fluff, but as many of my readers have pointed out, fluff has been missing from my main story for an aggravatingly long time, and so I thought I'd make up both for it and my extreme tardiness in updating (six weeks) with a couple of holiday one-shots. This is the first, and you can expect the second before Christmas Eve. Please, if you enjoy, let me know with a quick review. Though I know it's not enough for my loyal readers who've waited so long for an update from me, I hope it begins to make up for my tardiness. If you are a newer reader of mine, please, if you enjoy this, give my main story a shot too. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Anyway, I've bored y'all enough. Enjoy the fluff!

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><p>The warmth was delicious. If she could, she would stay right here for the rest of her life, sitting high above the ground, the rumble of the pick-up shaking her frame in an almost paradoxical gentle tumultuousness<p>

"Kinda late for a date, isn't it?" she asked, giving her friend a curious glance. "It's almost two in the morning!"

"You came out anyway," Ash noted with a grin.

Still shivering from the walk to the vehicle, she rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to know what was so important it couldn't wait till morning."

"I was just bored. I haven't seen you in months, after all." Another smile; this time less cocky and more sincere.

"That wouldn't happen if you stayed in one place more than two days at a time."

"I've been thinking about that, actually."

"Hu-Ah!" The truck lurched forward as the raven-haired teen brought it into gear. "Be careful. There's a lot of snow."

"I've got chains on the tires. Don't worry." The cocky smile came back. "A Champion can handle anything. Even some snowy roads."

There he went.

"You're never gonna let this go, are you? Now that you're my boss, you're just gonna rub it in my face forever."

Ash feigned surprise as the driveway led out to the main road. The tick-tock of the blinker came to life, and he widened his eyes. "Misty, I would never think of using my new position to make my friends feel bad. You know that!"

"Sure you wouldn't, Ketchum."

Taking a right, he dropped the facade. "Well, you can't blame me, can you? It's been a month and it still doesn't feel real to _me_."

"Me either," she answered with a smile, looking at her date.

"Hard to believe I finally became good enough to win at Indigo, huh?" He gave a short laugh. Pikachu continued dozing between the two trainers with a small frown on his face.

"Not so much that, actually...it's harder to believe we're already here, at the end of it all. It feels like yesterday some moron stole my bike and then blew it up before I could chase him down."

"Yeah, it kinda does."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the light-falling snow as it drifted towards the windshield. They thought back to all they'd done - both together and apart. It had been quite a life.

"But let's not think about the past." Ash's voice perked. "What about the future? I'm the Kanto Champion now! I'm gonna be having all kinds of cool adventures and meeting all types of people from around the region. What're you planning on doing?"

"Well, Christmas is almost here, so I'm giving myself a week off for the holidays."

Ash rolled his eyes as they took a turn. "We already talked about that earlier. And besides, I don't mean in the next week. I'm talking about life! What's your plan?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. I'm sorta taking life one day at a time for now."

"One day at a time is good, but you'll never get to where you wanna be like that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? When did you become a sage?"

He chuckled. "I just know it's the truth. People don't get where they're going if they don't know where they wanna go. It's like this drive."

"Like this drive?"

"Yeah. I picked you up, but I have no idea where I wanted to go, so now we're headed down some creepy dark road." He gestured to the window where, indeed, no lights were on. He turned on the brights to get better visibility.

"Hmm," she mumbled. "I guess I could see myself working on my education at some point. It's not like I'll be traveling anytime soon with my sisters gone all the time."

"You still wanna travel?"

She nodded, resting her head against the cool window; looking outside at the inky darkness as her rosy cheek chilled at the touch. "Yeah, all the time. I miss hanging out with you and Brock and Pikachu and making all those new friends."

"This kinda looks like a cool place to hang out," Ash noted; seemingly ignorant of his friend's bemoaning. He pointed forward, to a small ledge edged with a creaky wooden fence. In the distance, the lights of Cerulean could be seen.

He pulled the truck closer to the cliff before putting her in park.

"You want some hot chocolate?"

She gave him an inquisitive stare. "Uh, where from?"

He pointed to the cup holder by her leg. "The thermos. I made some before I left the house."

Smiling at her own obliviousness, she quickly nodded.

He reached over and grabbed the plaid thermos. "We'll have to share the one cup. Don't know why I didn't think about getting another."

"That's alright." Misty smiled as he poured the steaming liquid into the thermos' top. He took a quick sip before handing it over.

"Careful, it's hot."

She took a sip and agreed. "Thanks for the warning."

"If you miss hanging out so much, you should just say so."

"Hm?"

"What you were talking about a minute ago. If you miss me and Brock, you can just tell us."

"I know, but I don't like how it sounds."

"How it sounds?"

"You guys are living your dreams. He's a Pokémon doctor, and now you're a champion. It'd be weird for me to just call you guys out of your busy lives just so we could hang out."

"I promise I wouldn't mind."

"Hm."

More quiet. More snow.

"Are you sorry that we did it?"

Misty looked up from the cup. "Huh?"

"Sorry that we went on the date earlier today, I mean."

She gave a half-smile, confused. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"If you miss us so much, it's not hard to believe that maybe you just said yes because you were feeling lonely."

"Maybe you just asked because you were in town and looking for a good time."

His brow furrowed at the quick reply. "Is that what you thought when I called?"

"It crossed my mind. I haven't seen you in two years, and then you suddenly call and ask me out for the next night out of the blue? Last time we saw each other, I didn't think you were even interested in girls."

"We talk on the phone pretty regularly, though. It's not like we've been completely out of touch while I was in Sinnoh and then here in Kanto."

"Yeah, but that's different. Why'd you ask me out?"

It was warm. The defroster was on. The heater was warming their feet. Pikachu lay still between the teens.

"I missed you."

She should have left it. She should have dropped it. But now she was warm inside like she was outside. The hot chocolate was working its magic, and she felt as if in a lucid dream. She wanted to be awake. She needed a clear answer.

"Like a friend?"

"Like..."

He struggled, but now he was hot too. But he didn't want it to stop; he didn't dare want to touch that thermostat. If one degree faltered, the entire night would be ruined. "Like someone I love."

"How?"

"Dunno."

"Why me?"

"Dunno."

"You love me after one date?"

"I love you after all we've been through together. After realizing how you made me feel."

This shouldn't make her feel like she does. She should be sticking her tongue out at the poignant corniness. How could they feel this way? They were nineteen; they didn't know what love was. And yet, here they were - and she knew she felt for him exactly what he couldn't describe for her.

It was inexplicable, but simultaneously completely understandable.

_Young love has everything to do with youth, and nothing to do with love._

She'd heard that on the radio a long time ago.

Maybe it was true.

Probably was.

"I love you too," she whispered, her voice a little raspy as passion shot adrenaline through her veins. Their first date just a few hours before ended with a peck on the cheek, but now she knew something much bigger lay in store.

The two met across the middle of the old pick-up, their lips and hair and hands quickly entangled in a hot, sweaty mess - the windows becoming fogged even with the defroster working its magic. In the background, a slow country-western melody played, and it was the most beautiful song the pair never heard.

The night unfolded, and neither teen noticed when Pikachu climbed behind the passenger seat and resumed his nap; this time with a smile on his face.


End file.
